A Costanza Moment

Deep down, I'm totally cheap. I sweat every single dollar I spend. I shy away from doing things that cost money and jump at the opportunity to do things that are free. Only in the last year or so have I been able to convince myself that paying $5 cover at bar really isn't that big of a deal. Of course, just a couple years ago my yearly income was around the $5K mark, and even though its now an order of magnitude larger, old habits die slowly.

Back in October my dentist decided that my recent x-rays showed that I needed to have a bit of work done, some of which was not going to be covered by my insurance. Well, they showed me the cost estimate of what I was going to have to cover and I balked at it. "No way. I don't want to pay this. I'd rather spend it on myself." Unfortunately I didn't internalize those thoughts (partially because I thought the dentist was trying to put one over on me, given that I've had a pretty good record with my teeth in the past, but eventually decided that there probably was a reason for the toothaches I was having and went along with the recommendations), and now I am apparently remembered as "that guy that doesn't want to pay for his dental work." Motherfuckers. No shit I don't want to pay for it. Let me give you the choice between getting a cavity drilled and paying for it or, say, a new iPod. Which would you choose? Douchebags. This all came up again yesterday at my half-yearly cleaning, when they pointed out that I still had one tooth left to work on. I'm fully aware that they made the recommendation back in October, I just didn't want to incur the cost of this work all at once. Hell, I asked them what needed to be done immediately and what could wait, and hence I'm waiting on the ones they said I could wait on. So as I'm walking up to the front desk to schedule the appointment the lady at the front desk says, "So why haven't we done this yet? Oh right, something with the insurance?" Oh my god, people, why can't you be a bit more understanding? And how the hell do you remember that? I make one idle comment 6 months ago, and every god-damn employee at this place remembers me as the guy that didn't want to pay for the recommended treatment. God damnit. I hate you all.

Now, with all that said, isn't that exactly the sort of situation that George Costanza would get himself into, and exactly how he would react to it? "They all think I'm cheap! I'm not cheap! What kind of person actually wants to pay for dental work?" I love Seinfeld. Best show ever.

Some favorites

I've had my iPod shuffle for about two months now, and in that time I've completely fallen in love with podcasts. I swear, I'll listen to regular radio now, stop paying attention for a minute, and get pissed off when I can't rewind it. So, I thought I'd share some of my favorite podcasts, and I'll toss in some of the internet radio I listen to as well:

ESPN's Pardon the Interruption: Wilbon and Kornheiser - power commentary.
ESPN Dan Patrick with Keith Olbermann: It's like early 90's primetime sportscenter all over again. Unfortunately for you, this is only the first segment of their hour together (but you can get the entire thing if you're an espn.com insider).
Locked On Sports highlights: David Locke is my favorite sports radio host, and his opening smash is the best 10 minutes in radio.
Tom Leykis from 97.1 fm: Leykis. 'nough said.
Conway & Whitman on 97.1 fm: These guys are hilarious. They're on in LA from 8pm to 11pm, and it's the perfect show to listen to as the day winds down - chill as hell.
The Loveline Archive: Still with Dr. Drew, and they're looking for a replacement host for Adam Carollo (who, btw, is completely sucking it up on his morning show. Actually, he isn't doing that bad, but the people he's working with are horrible)

And, internet radio, most of which air live the podcasts listed above:
KJR - Seattle sports radio
ESPN radio - National sports radio
Xtra Sports 570 - Jim Rome, 9am-noon
97.1 Free FM - LA's best talk radio
KNDD - alt rock, Adam Carolla in the morning, Loveline at night.